iOS 11 review: A big deal for iPads, but not iPhones
Last year's iOS 10 was all about refining Apple's mobile experience -- it was "like polishing a pearl," I noted at the time. Now, with iOS 11,
Apple is focusing even more on its big-screen iPad experience, but at
the same time, it's leaving the iPhone a bit behind. Even though we
didn't get any dramatic changes last year in iOS 10, it brought along a
slew of useful features to the iPhone. That included bringing apps and
Snapchat-like elements into Messages, as well as opening up 3D Touch
more to developers. This time, though, iPhone users might have a hard
time noticing that they've upgraded. On the flip side, iOS 11 is great
news for iPad fans who want to do more with their tablets.
When it's available, you'll get a prompt to install iOS 11. If you're in a hurry, though, you can also head to the "General" section of the Settings app to check for the update. You'll want to be connected to power and WiFi throughout the installation process. The iOS 11 download weighs in over 2GB, and the setup process took around five minutes longer than iOS 10 on my iPhone 6S.
Once the installation is complete, you'll find that the iOS 11 lock screen looks ever so slightly different. Instead of having clear backgrounds, the pin number pad has shaded buttons. And if you swipe up from the initial lock screen, you'll quickly see all of your notifications. After you get past that, though, it's pretty much the same iOS design as last year on the iPhone: Swipe right to get to the today page, and swipe down from the top for notifications. You know the drill.
I chided Apple for not changing its iOS design much a year ago, so it's even more disappointing to see that things haven't improved much. It's not that iOS 11 looks bad on the iPhone; it's just a bit stale. And the changes that we do get aren't exactly improvements.
A new Control Center
When you swipe up from the bottom of an iPhone running the new OS, you'll find a dramatically revamped Control Center. Gone is the two-screen format from last year; this time around, Apple crammed all of the Control Center's shortcuts into one screen. Honestly, it feels like a jumbled mess at first. That was my initial impression when Apple first announced iOS 11, and it hasn't changed much during my time with it.
The icons aren't exactly hard to figure out, but they're so close together on my iPhone 6S that it always takes me a second to figure out what I need to hit. They could be a bit more comfortable on a Plus model, but that screen size is too big for my taste. In addition to buttons, the new Control Center has sliders for quickly adjusting your brightness and volume. And, as before, you can use 3D Touch to unlock additional options.
Media controls now have their own dedicated spot in the Control Center, but you can also jump deeper into them with a 3D Touch tap, or a long press on earlier iPhones. Doing so opens up the ability to move around a track, as well as switch between different media devices. That's useful if you need to choose between multiple wireless headsets or AirPlay devices.
Thankfully, you can customize the crowded Control Center to your liking by removing and adding shortcuts. Never use the flashlight? Just drop it and replace it with a shortcut to Notes or Voice Memos. You can also change the placement of Control Center icons, so you can easily put your most used buttons on top. Don't be surprised, though, if the Control Center starts to fill up the majority of your screen as you add more icons.
While it won't be useful for everyone, I appreciated being able to quickly record my iPhone's screen from the control center. And for anyone who needs accessibility features, including quickly accessing the magnifier or tweaking your phone's text size, you'll likely find something unique to enjoy as well. While it's nowhere near the extreme customization you'd find on Android phones, the revamped Control Center offers iOS users a small bit of customization in a normally restricted OS.
You can expect to do a lot more with photos in iOS 11. Apple revamped
Portrait mode in the camera to support flash and image stabilization,
both of which should make it much more useful in dimly lit areas.
Developers will also be able to take advantage of the Depth API to
create new filters using data from Portrait mode. And good news for
storage hounds: Apple is moving toward more efficient file formats (HEIF
and HEVC) on the iPhone 7 and later to reduce the size of your gallery.
When it comes to the actual Photos app, you'll be able to transform Live Photos with three new effects: loop, bounce and long exposure. The first two are pretty self-explanatory -- they'll repeat the Live Photo, and move it back and forth -- while the latter mimics the dreamy effect you'd get from a lengthy exposure on a DSLR. They're fun effects, but not particularly revolutionary at this point.
Sticking with the trend of spreading intelligence throughout iOS,
Apple says its Memories feature -- automatically generated photo and
video albums -- will be significantly smarter in iOS 11. They'll
recognize new types of events, including weddings, anniversaries and
"over the years" compilations. And they'll be wiser about the type of
media they include (especially when it comes to detecting blinks and
smiles), as well as the accompanying music. Memories will even be able
to straighten out slightly crooked photos on its own, using machine
intelligence.
The Memories I came across during my testing were definitely more polished than before, with smarter editing and a more appropriate image selection throughout. Another plus? You can seamlessly swap between portrait and landscape modes while you're playing a Memory. Since I take most photos in landscape, though, that ended up being the best option.
Aside from the new Control Center, most of the iPhone-specific
changes in iOS 11 are relatively minor. The app-switching view is more
card-like, harking back to the likes of WebOS in the Palm Pre. The App
Store and Messages have also been redesigned to resemble Apple Music;
there's a big emphasis on large text and bold images. It's an attractive
look, even if it's very reminiscent of Microsoft's old Zune style. The
redesign of Messages also brings a big improvement in that it lets you
easily scroll through your apps on the bottom of the screen. That's a
big improvement over the messy interface of last year.
There's also a bit more of an editorial spin in the App Store now: There are curated lists, as well as small articles for featured apps. Apple also separated games and apps into different sections, which should help people who never really play games to avoid clutter. Altogether, it should be much easier to find useful new apps in iOS 11. That's especially important because consumers use an average of only around 26 apps a month, according to a 2015 Nielsen survey.
Pros
- Dock and multitasking are huge for iPad
- ARKit will enable a new breed of apps
- Camera improvements will shine in newer iPhones
Cons
- Not many changes for iPhone users
- No major design upgrades, aside from the dock
- P2P payments and other features not ready at launch
Summary
iOS 11 marks yet another
year of refinement for Apple. It delivers some useful upgrades for iPads
-- especially if you want to use one as a laptop replacement -- but
you’ll barely notice the update on iPhones.
Getting started
As usual, we recommend backing up your device before going through any OS installation. Even though Apple has made the iOS upgrade process more seamless than it used to be, there's still a chance things can go wrong. In this case, it's worth making a local iTunes backup, since it's much easier to restore from that instead of using iCloud.When it's available, you'll get a prompt to install iOS 11. If you're in a hurry, though, you can also head to the "General" section of the Settings app to check for the update. You'll want to be connected to power and WiFi throughout the installation process. The iOS 11 download weighs in over 2GB, and the setup process took around five minutes longer than iOS 10 on my iPhone 6S.
Once the installation is complete, you'll find that the iOS 11 lock screen looks ever so slightly different. Instead of having clear backgrounds, the pin number pad has shaded buttons. And if you swipe up from the initial lock screen, you'll quickly see all of your notifications. After you get past that, though, it's pretty much the same iOS design as last year on the iPhone: Swipe right to get to the today page, and swipe down from the top for notifications. You know the drill.
I chided Apple for not changing its iOS design much a year ago, so it's even more disappointing to see that things haven't improved much. It's not that iOS 11 looks bad on the iPhone; it's just a bit stale. And the changes that we do get aren't exactly improvements.
A new Control Center
When you swipe up from the bottom of an iPhone running the new OS, you'll find a dramatically revamped Control Center. Gone is the two-screen format from last year; this time around, Apple crammed all of the Control Center's shortcuts into one screen. Honestly, it feels like a jumbled mess at first. That was my initial impression when Apple first announced iOS 11, and it hasn't changed much during my time with it.
The icons aren't exactly hard to figure out, but they're so close together on my iPhone 6S that it always takes me a second to figure out what I need to hit. They could be a bit more comfortable on a Plus model, but that screen size is too big for my taste. In addition to buttons, the new Control Center has sliders for quickly adjusting your brightness and volume. And, as before, you can use 3D Touch to unlock additional options.
Media controls now have their own dedicated spot in the Control Center, but you can also jump deeper into them with a 3D Touch tap, or a long press on earlier iPhones. Doing so opens up the ability to move around a track, as well as switch between different media devices. That's useful if you need to choose between multiple wireless headsets or AirPlay devices.
Thankfully, you can customize the crowded Control Center to your liking by removing and adding shortcuts. Never use the flashlight? Just drop it and replace it with a shortcut to Notes or Voice Memos. You can also change the placement of Control Center icons, so you can easily put your most used buttons on top. Don't be surprised, though, if the Control Center starts to fill up the majority of your screen as you add more icons.
While it won't be useful for everyone, I appreciated being able to quickly record my iPhone's screen from the control center. And for anyone who needs accessibility features, including quickly accessing the magnifier or tweaking your phone's text size, you'll likely find something unique to enjoy as well. While it's nowhere near the extreme customization you'd find on Android phones, the revamped Control Center offers iOS users a small bit of customization in a normally restricted OS.
Better camera performance
When it comes to the actual Photos app, you'll be able to transform Live Photos with three new effects: loop, bounce and long exposure. The first two are pretty self-explanatory -- they'll repeat the Live Photo, and move it back and forth -- while the latter mimics the dreamy effect you'd get from a lengthy exposure on a DSLR. They're fun effects, but not particularly revolutionary at this point.
The Memories I came across during my testing were definitely more polished than before, with smarter editing and a more appropriate image selection throughout. Another plus? You can seamlessly swap between portrait and landscape modes while you're playing a Memory. Since I take most photos in landscape, though, that ended up being the best option.
Other iPhone improvements
There's also a bit more of an editorial spin in the App Store now: There are curated lists, as well as small articles for featured apps. Apple also separated games and apps into different sections, which should help people who never really play games to avoid clutter. Altogether, it should be much easier to find useful new apps in iOS 11. That's especially important because consumers use an average of only around 26 apps a month, according to a 2015 Nielsen survey.
